I draw the Deputy's attention to my reply of 12 November 1997.
Successful completion of the students of the three-year registration/diploma programme leads to registration as general nurses with An Bord Altranais, at which point they will become eligible for employment. As a degree in nursing is not a requirement for registration as a nurse and subsequent employment, the particular one-year degree course proposed by University College Galway would essentially be an additional course leading to an optional post-registration qualification. Students wishing to undertake the degree course would, therefore, have to meet the costs involved themselves.